Image: Alliance Defending Freedom UK
Livia Tossici-Bolt, 63, is on trial for standing with a sign that read, “Here to talk, if you want to”, near an abortion facility in Bournemouth.
“There’s nothing wrong with two adults engaging in a consensual conversation on the street. I shouldn’t be treated like a criminal just for this”, said Tossici-Bolt before the trial at Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court on 5-6 March.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, wrongfully arrested twice inside a buffer zone, was in Bournemouth yesterday to show her support for Tossici-Bolt.
“Even offering to talk to someone who wants to talk to you is being challenged. That doesn’t sound like free speech to me!” Vaughan-Spruce posted on X after Prime Minster Keir Starmer told JD Vance in the Oval Office that free speech in the UK “will last for a very, very long time”.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last month, Vice-President Vance warned that, “in Britain, and across Europe, free speech I fear is in retreat”. Vance cited the case of Afghanistan veteran Adam Smith-Connor who was arrested and found guilty of praying silently for his dead son near an abortion facility.
“I wish I could say that this was a fluke, a one-off, crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person”, Vance continued. “But no… The backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs.”
SPUC welcomed Vance’s moral leadership that “spoke to the profound concerns of many UK citizens who are aghast at the imposition of thoughtcrime for the first time in Britain”.
Buffer zones of 150m came into effect across England and Wales last year. Subsequent Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance stated that silent prayer is “not necessarily” criminal, but actions inside buffer zones that “influence” women are, whether that influence is approving or disapproving of abortion.
Tossici-Bolt says that several individuals took her up her offer to have a conversation. She also refused to pay a fine and says her right to offer conversation is protected under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998, which ensures the right to give and receive information and express opinions.
Last month, it emerged that Vaughan-Spruce had been targeted again by police for her “mere presence” near an abortion facility, which was deemed potentially criminal. She has since asked the police for clarification about why her “mere presence” may be a criminal offence.
Vaughan-Spruce also issued a statement that said: “It has been made clear time and time again through the verdict of Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, through the concession and payout from the police, through the words of the former Home Secretary and through CPS Guidance – you cannot break the law by simply existing in a buffer zone, holding thoughts and beliefs in your mind.”
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